Method and apparatus for blocking ID information associated with a sender of a short messaging service (SMS) message

ABSTRACT

A component of the wireless network detects when a party who is sending an electronic message desires to have the sender&#39;s ID information blocked. If a determination is made that the sender&#39;s ID information is to be blocked, the network component removes the ID information from the communication and transmits the message to the intended recipient without the sender&#39;s ID information being included in the transmission.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to wireless communications. More particularly, theinvention relates to allowing a party who is sending a Short MessagingService (SMS) message to block the party's identification information sothat the recipient of the SMS message is unable to ascertain the sourceof the SMS message.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In landline and wireless networks, a feature known as Caller-ID allowsusers to view the telephone number of the person who is calling them.The telephone number of the calling party typically is displayed on adisplay device of the user's telephone. A signaling protocol known asSignaling System 7 (SS7) provides for transmitting signaling informationthat includes the telephone number of both the calling and calledparties. The signaling information is transmitted over a differentchannel from the channel over which the voice or data is transmitted.Components in the network route the signaling information and the voiceand/or data to the called party's telephone. Logic in the telephonecauses the telephone number of the calling party to be displayed on thedisplay device of the called party's telephone.

A party who is placing a call has the ability to block the telephonenumber of the telephone from which the call is being placed by enteringa specific series of digits immediately preceding the telephone numberof the party they are calling. For example, in some landline networks,if the digits “*67” are dialed immediately prior to dialing thetelephone number of the party who is being called, the telephone numberof the party who is placing the call will be blocked, and therefore willnot be displayed on the called party's telephone. This is useful invarious situations in which the calling party desires to preserve his orher privacy by preventing his or her telephone number from beingrevealed.

SMS is a messaging protocol that allows short text messages to be sentvia wireless networks to and from wireless devices, such as, forexample, wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.The wireless network has components that are responsible for determiningthe destination addresses and for transporting the short messagesbetween the SMS centres (SMSCs) and the wireless devices. In contrast toother existing text-message transmission services, such as alphanumericpaging, SMS provides guaranteed delivery of text messages because themessage is stored in the SMSC until the destination wireless devicebecomes available. Thus, SMS provides a store-and-forward service forshort (i.e., no more than 160 alphanumeric characters) text messages.

As wireless networks and technology have evolved, a variety of servicesthat use SMS have been introduced, including, for example, email, fax,paging, interactive banking, information services and integration withInternet-based applications. Although SMS messaging continues to grow,it is not currently possible for a sending party who is sending an SMSmessage to block the sending party's identification (ID) information(e.g., email address or telephone number). It would be desirable toprovide a feature that enables a sender of an SMS message to block thesender's ID information, thereby preventing the sender's ID informationfrom being displayed on the intended recipient's wireless device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, intelligence is provided in acomponent or components of the wireless network that detects when aparty who is sending an electronic message desires to have the sender'sID information blocked. If a determination is made that the sender's IDinformation is to be blocked, the network component removes the IDinformation from the communication and transmits the message to theintended recipient without the sender's ID information being included inthe transmission.

The apparatus of the invention comprises detection logic that detects ifthe message also includes an indicator that indicates that the IDinformation associated with the wireless device of the sender of themessage is to be blocked, and message creation logic that creates a newmessage that includes a blocking reference, the ID informationassociated with the intended recipient's wireless device, and themessage contents.

The method of the invention comprises detecting if an electronic messageincludes an indicator that indicates that the ID information associatedwith the wireless device of the sender of the message is to be blocked,and creating a new message that includes the blocking reference, the IDinformation associated with the intended recipient's wireless device,and the message contents.

The invention also comprises a computer program for blocking IDinformation associated with a wireless device of a sender of anelectronic message. The program comprises a first code segment fordetecting if the message also includes an indicator that indicates thatthe ID information associated with the wireless device of the sender ofthe SMS message is to be blocked, and a second code segment for creatinga new message that includes the blocking reference, the ID informationassociated with the intended recipient's wireless device, and themessage contents.

These and other features of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description, drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an SMS network in which theinvention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a dialog diagram that demonstrates communicationbetween an ESME, an SMSC, a sender's wireless device, and an intendedrecipient's wireless device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the logic of a component of an SMSnetwork in which the invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In accordance with the invention, intelligence is provided in acomponent or components of the wireless network that detects when aparty who is sending a message desires to have the sender's IDinformation blocked. If a determination is made that the sender's IDinformation is to be blocked, the network component removes the IDinformation from the communication and transmits the message to theintended recipient without the sender's ID information being included inthe transmission. The manner in which ID information blocking isaccomplished is described below in detail with reference to anembodiment of the invention.

Prior to describing the mechanism of the invention for performing IDinformation blocking, various examples of useful SMS ID blockingscenarios will be provided. When the user creates an SMS message, theuser will preface the destination address associated with the intendedrecipient with a particular code that the network will recognize as anindication that the sender's ID information is not to be presented tothe intended recipient. For example, assuming an SMS message is beingsent by a sender's wireless device having telephone number 4045551111 toa recipient's wireless device having telephone number 4045552222. Thesender will preface the recipient's telephone number with a preselectedcode, such as, for example, “*67”. Therefore, the recipient's telephonenumber with the code will be displayed on the display device of thesender's wireless device as: *674045552222.

The following is an example in which the sender is bidding on anautomobile that the recipient is selling. The following information isdisplayed on the display device of the sender's wireless device:

EXAMPLE 1

-   -   Msg: Bid for Car, Are you willing to accept $1,500.00 for your        car?    -   From: 4045551111    -   To: *674045552222

When the sender selects the “Send” option on the wireless device, themessage will be sent to the wireless device address of the intendedrecipient. The network will detect that the “*67” code precedes therecipient's telephone number and will strip the sender's telephonenumber from the message so that the sender remains anonymous. TheNetwork will store a link to the originating number referenced by thetext with which the originating number is being replaced. This link willuse the destination address and the new text string to reference theoriginator This string may be “Anonymous” or “Unknown”. This neworiginating address shall be routable back to the network element in theevent that the recipient replies to the message. The SMS messagereceived by the recipient is displayed on the recipient's wirelessdevice as:

EXAMPLE 2

-   -   From: Unknown    -   To: 4045552222    -   Msg: Bid for Car, Are you willing to accept $1,500.00 for your        car?

Thus, the sender's ID information (i.e., the sender's telephone numberin this example) is not displayed to the recipient and the senderremains anonymous. Also, as shown in Example 2, the “*67” codepreferably is not included so that it is not apparent to the intendedrecipient that the sender has blocked the sender's ID information.

The ID information that the invention filters on is typically the E164mobile device number. The E164 number is typically the mobile stationintegrated services digital network (MSISDN/MIN), which is theeleven-digit telephone number of the wireless user. However, theinvention is not limited to filtering on any particular type of IDinformation. For example, in the case in which the SMS messageoriginates from an electronic mail (email) address, the ID informationthat the invention filters on will typically be the email address fromwhich the message originated. In Example 1 above, the originatingaddress was in E164 format. However, as shown in Example 2, the newmessage has an originating address that is in alphanumeric format. Thelogic that performs the task of creating the new message may query adatabase to determine the destination's capabilities. If the destinationis, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)handset, then the alphanumeric format is appropriate. However, if thedestination does not have these capabilities (e.g., time divisionmultiple access (TDMA) or unknown), then the network component mayreplace the originating address with a common E164 address (e.g.,2562533, which spells “Blocked” or 1111).

In addition, the invention is not limited to blocking ID information inSMS messages. The invention applies equally to blocking ID informationtypically included in other types of electronic messages, such as, forexample, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messages sent via Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP), instant messaging (IM) messages sent over theInternet, pager messages sent by Interactive Messaging, multimediamessaging service (MMS) messages, email messages, etc. Although theseother types of messages are sent using protocols and networks that aredifferent from those used for SMS messages, a similar mechanism as thatdescribed above with reference to the ESME could be used for ID blockingin these other types of networks. Persons skilled in the art willunderstand, in view of the description provided herein, the manner inwhich the invention can be implemented for these other types ofmessages. The term “electronic message” will be used herein to mean allof types of messages that are sent electronically over a network.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, rather thanindicating that the message is from an “unknown” party, the sender'sidentity is disguised. For example, when the network detects that adestination telephone number is prefaced by the “*67” code, the networkmay send a prompt to the sender asking the sender if he or she wishes tobe identified in a particular manner. The sender may then enter an aliasthat is to be used as the identifier for the sender. The sender canconfigure this globally for whenever they user the *67 text service. Anexample of a way to enable this would be to have the sender send a shortmessage to “*69” (or some other network routing code) that includes thetext the sender wants to be displayed in place of the sender's address(e.g., up to 20 characters). The network component that performs theinvention will then store a link for this source MSISDN to the text tobe displayed. For example, assuming the sender enters the alias“Interested Buyer” when setting up their alias address, the sender wouldfirst send a text message such as:

EXAMPLE 3

-   -   From: 4045551111    -   To: *69    -   Msg: “Interested Buyer”        When the sender wants to send the actual message to the intended        recipient, the sender would send the message:

EXAMPLE 4

-   -   Msg: Bid for Car, Are you willing to accept $1,500.00for your        car?    -   From: 4045551111    -   To: *674045552222

The message may appear to the recipient as follows:

EXAMPLE 5

-   -   From: Interested Buyer    -   To: 4045552222    -   Msg: Bid for Car, Are you willing to accept $1,500.00 for your        car?        Alternatively, the network could provide an interactive method        of selecting or specifying the desired “From/Anonymous” address        that is displayed on the recipient's handset. This can be        accomplished by, for example, assigning a specific network block        code, e.g., “*nn4045552222”, where “nn” represents any network        code.

The following example demonstrates a possible SMS text message back tothe original sender by the network component to assist the originalsender in selecting possible anonymous codes:

EXAMPLE 6

-   -   Reply to this message with one of the following choices:    -   1. Unknown    -   2. Anonymous    -   3. Secret Admirer    -   Or just enter the text you wish to display up to 20 characters

The recipient who receives the SMS message may respond with an SMSmessage that keeps the identity of the recipient anonymous. For example,a response sent by the original recipient to the original sender mayappear to the original sender as:

EXAMPLE 7

-   -   To: *67Interested Buyer    -   From: 4045552222    -   Msg: Bid for Car, No, too low. However, I would accept at least        $2,500.00 for the car.        The network component may then send the following message to the        original sender:

EXAMPLE 8

-   -   To: Interested Buyer    -   From: Blocked    -   Msg: Bid for car, No, too low. However, I would accept at least        $2,500.00 for the car.        Communications between the buyer and seller may then continue on        in an anonymous or disguised manner.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an SMS network 1 in which theinvention may be implemented. Prior to describing the invention and themanner in which it may be implemented in the SMS network 1, the mannerin which the network 1 typically operates and is configured will bedescribed. When a user of a wireless device 2 wishes to send an SMSmessage, the user inputs a text message on the wireless device 2, entersthe cellular telephone number of the intended recipient, and selects“Send”. The base station (BS) 3 receives the wireless communication fromthe sent by the wireless device 2 and forwards it to the mobileswitching center (MSC) 4. The MSC 4 looks up the global title of themessage center associated with the destination telephone number androutes the communication to a signal transfer point (STP) gateway 5.

The communication received by the STP gateway 5 from the MSC 4 is in SS7format. The STP gateway 5 routes the SS7 communication to an SMS center(SMSC) 6. The mobile-originated SMS message is routed to the SS7 addressof the SMSC 6 based on routing information contained in the SS7communication. The STP gateway 5 is typically connected to other STPgateways to provide flexibility for routing to a number of differentlocations.

The SMSC 6 analyzes the SS7 communication and uses a routing table todetermine the next node in the network 1 to which the SMS message is tobe routed. In one particular network configuration that the assignee ofthe present application uses, the SMSC routes all communications to themessage application router (MAR) 7 over the SMPP protocol. The MAR 7routes the SMPP communication based on login ID to an Open MessagingGateway (OMG) 8. The OMG 8 uses a routing table to route the SMPPcommunication to a MAR 9 based on the destination address contained inthe SMPP communication. Prior to routing the SMPP communication to MAR9, the OMG 8 queries a customer database 11 for sender and recipientprofile information via a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)connection. The profile information is used by the OMG 8 to determinewhether the sender has authorization to send SMS messages and whetherthe intended recipient has authorization to receive SMS messages.

The MAR 9 then routes the SMPP communication to the proper externalshort message entity (ESME) 10 based on the ESME bind credentials thatthe OMG 8 associates with the destination address contained in the SMPPcommunication. Each ESME has its own bind credentials (i.e., login IDand password) and the ESMEs are distinguished based on these bindcredentials. The ESME 10 typically represents a fixed network SMSclient, such as, for example, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)proxy server, an email gateway or a voicemail server. Once the SMPPcommunication has been routed to the ESME 10, a connection isestablished between the SMSC 6 and the ESME 10. Communications betweenthe SMSC 6 and the ESME 10 then take place in order to bind the ESME 10to the SMSC 6 for the SMPP session.

The STP 5 that receives the SS7 communication may route thecommunication to a network element known as an IP Transfer Point (ITP)13. The ITP 13 may be an ITP of the type sold by Cisco Systems, Inc. of170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95134. The ITP 13 is capable ofconverting SS7 communications into SMPP communications and of routingthe SMPP communication to the proper ESME 30 for handling the call. TheITP 13 is also capable of converting the SS7 communication into aSignaling Transport (SIGTRAN) communication and of routing the SIGTRANcommunication to the proper SMSC 6 for handling the call.

In addition to the functions that an ESME typically performs during anSMPP session, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, theESMEs 10 and 30 include intelligence for carrying out the invention,i.e., for stripping off the sender's ID information. However, asdescribed in more detail below, the invention is not limited withrespect to the network element in which the functions of the inventionare performed. For exemplary purposes, it will be assumed that the ESMEs10 and 30 comprise the intelligence needed to strip off the sender's IDinformation and to substitute an identifier such as “Unkown” or an aliasselected by the sender into the communication.

The ESMEs 10 and 30 communicate with respective databases 20 and 40 inorder to perform the functions associated with the invention. Thesedatabases may be separate network elements (e.g., servers) or they maybe held and maintained in a common network element. In order to describethe functions performed by the ESME in accordance with the invention, anexample of a dialog between an SMSC and the ESME of the invention willbe provided with reference to FIG. 2. For this example, it will beassumed that the telephone number of the sender's wireless device is4045551111 and that the telephone number of the recipient's wirelessdevice is 4045552222. The sender types an SMS message on the sender'swireless device and enters a telephone number prefaced by apredetermined code, such as, for example, “*67”. When the sender selectsthe “Send” option, the sender's wireless device forwards the SMS messageto the MSC. Subsequently, the message is forwarded to the SMSC from theMSC and onto the ESME, as described above with reference to FIG. 1.

The arrow 61 in FIG. 2 indicates the routing of the SS7 communicationfrom the sender's wireless device through the network to the SMSC. TheSS7 communication identifies the sender's telephone number as 4045551111and the recipient's telephone number as *674045552222. The arrow 63indicates the routing of the corresponding SMPP communication from theSMSC to the ESME. For simplicity, the acknowledgements that are sent bynetwork components in response to receiving communications from othernetwork components are not shown.

When the ESME receives the communication, the ESME creates a new messagethat has an ID-blocking reference in the place of the sender's telephonenumber. For example, the ID-blocking reference may be “block1”, wherethe “1” indicates that this is the first blocked message sent to theintended recipient via this particular ESME during a certain time period(e.g., during the current day). During the process of creating the newmessage, the ESME links the sender's telephone number with a key, whichis generated by combining the blocking reference and the recipient'stelephone number. The ESME stores the link in the aforementioneddatabase (20 or 40 in FIG. 1) used by the ESME. Arrow 64 corresponds tothe ESME requesting a call blocking reference to be associated with theintended recipient's telephone number. Arrow 65 corresponds to theassigned blocking reference being sent from the database to the ESME.The database may be part of the ESME, i.e., ESME local memory, or it maybe a memory element that is separate from the ESME.

The new message created by the ESME comprises the blocking reference,the recipient's telephone number (e.g., 4045552222) and a message (e.g.,“Are you willing to accept $1,500.00 for your car?”). Arrow 66corresponds to the routing of the new message from the ESME to the SMSC.The SMSC that receives the new message may be the same SMSC thatreceived the original message or a different SMSC. The SMSC then routesthe new message to the STP, which determines which MSC the new messageis to be routed. For purposes of simplicity, the routing of the newmessage to the STP and MSC and the conversion of the SMPP communicationto an SS7 communication are not shown in FIG. 2. Arrow 67 represents therouting of the new message from the SMSC through the STP and MSC to thewireless device of the original recipient.

When the original recipient replies to the received SMS message, thereply SMS message comprises the original recipient's telephone number(4045552222), the blocking reference contained in the original sender'smessage (block1), and the content of the reply message. Arrow 69represents the routing of the reply SMS message from the originalrecipient's wireless device to the SMSC via the MSC and the STP. Thereply message is then routed from the SMSC to the ESME, as indicated bythe arrow 71.

When the ESME receives the reply message, the ESME determines thetelephone number of the original sender based on the blocking reference(block1) contained in the reply message and the recipient's telephonenumber (4045552222). The ESME creates a key by combining the recipient'stelephone number and the blocking reference. The key can be generatedusing these values in a variety of ways, and the invention is notlimited to any particular manner for generating the key. The ESME thenuses the key to lookup the original sender's telephone number in theaforementioned lookup table. The process of requesting and obtaining theoriginal sender's telephone number from the database is represented byarrows 73 and 75, respectively. The ESME then creates a new message thatincludes the telephone number of the original sender's wireless device,the reply message contents, and the telephone number of the originalrecipient's wireless device. The ESME then forwards the reply messageonto the SMSC, which forwards the message on to the wireless device ofthe original sender via the STP and MSC, as indicated by arrows 77 and79.

During subsequent communications between the original sender and theoriginal recipient within the same SMPP session, the ESME will continueto block the telephone number of the original sender's wireless deviceand use the key to lookup the original sender's telephone number in thelookup table. In addition, the original recipient may block thetelephone number of the original recipient's wireless device whensending reply messages to the original sender. Upon receiving the replymessage, the ESME will create a key by combining the telephone number ofthe original recipient's wireless device with a blocking reference,e.g., “block1”, that is associated with the telephone number of theoriginal recipient's wireless device. Subsequently, the key will be usedby the ESME to look up the original recipient's telephone number whenrouting reply messages from the original sender to the originalrecipient.

It is possible that the original recipient will receive blocked messagesfrom multiple senders over the course of a given time period. If asecond sender sends a blocked SMS message to the same intendedrecipient, the ESME will use a second blocking reference (e.g.,“block2”) and the telephone number of the second sender's wirelessdevice to generate the key that will be used to lookup the secondsender's telephone number in the lookup table. This enables the ESME todistinguish between multiple blocked senders when multiple SMPP sessionsare taking place involving the same recipient and multiple blockedsenders.

The database used by the ESME may assign blocking references thatidentify the network carrier. This would allow inter-carrier operationof the invention. For example, blocking references that are assigned byCingular Wireless networks would include a carrier code that identifiesthe blocking reference as having been assigned by a Cingular Wirelessnetwork. This would allow networks that are operated by differentcarriers to route blocked messages to the network that assigned theblocking reference. The network that assigned the blocking referencewould then lookup the telephone number associated with the blockedreference and route the message to the wireless device associated withthat telephone number.

Some people may not be willing to receive a message that is from anunknown source. The databases used by the ESMEs may also contain a listof telephone numbers associated with subscribers that are willing (i.e.,whitelist), or are not willing (i.e., blacklist) to receive messagesfrom unknown sources. In this case, when the ESME sends a request toobtain a blocking reference from the database (arrow 64), this willinclude a request for the database to send back an indication of whethernot the telephone number is associated with a subscriber who is willingto receive messages from unknown sources. Alternatively, this could beaccomplished by a separate dip by the ESME into the database, whichwould occur prior to the ESME requesting a blocking reference.

The recipient can reply to an incoming block message to prevent ananonymous message from that sender or any sender from being sent to therecipient's handset. The network component will then send a message backto the sender indicating that the message could not be delivered becausethe recipient has blocked anonymous messages. Subscribers can alsoconfigure the network component to block all anonymous messages. Thismay be accomplished directly by the subscribers from a web/WAP interfaceor via provisioning a class of service. This functionality may beimplemented in the ESME or in other network elements.

In the event that the ESME determines that the intended recipient is notwilling to receive messages from unknown sources, the message sent backto the sender may also provide the sender with the opportunity toprovide the sender's identity if the sender wishes to send the messageunblocked to the intended recipient. If the sender indicates that themessage is to be sent unblocked, the ESME would then forward theoriginal message, which includes the telephone number of the sender'swireless device, to the intended recipient. Thus, the sender would nothave to recreate and resend the original message.

Although the invention has been described above as being implemented inlogic in an ESME, the invention is not limited to this particularembodiment. The invention may be implemented in a various networkcomponents other than in the ESME, such as, for example, in the OMG, inthe SMSC or in the STP. Also, the logic that performs the invention maybe distributed over multiple network elements.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the logic 100 for performing thetasks described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The logic 100typically is implemented by a server executing software. The logic 100may be implemented in an ESME or in some other network component orcomponents. The logic 100 includes logic 101 that detects if thesender's ID information, e.g., wireless telephone number, is prefacedwith indicator (e.g., a blocking code) indicating that the IDinformation associated with the sender is to be blocked. If so, block102 obtains a blocking reference to be used and creates and stores alink that links the blocking reference to the sender's ID information.Logic 103 creates a new message that includes the blocking reference,the intended recipient's ID information (e.g., wireless telephonenumber) and the message contents. The new message is then sent to theintended recipient.

Logic 100 includes logic 104 that receives an SMS message sent by theintended recipient to the sender. Logic 104 uses the blocking referenceand the original recipient's ID information to retrieve the sender's IDinformation. Logic 104 then creates a new message that includes thesender's ID information, the message contents and the originalrecipient's ID information, if the original recipient has not blockedhis or her ID information. This message is then sent to the originalsender.

It should be noted that the invention has been described with referenceto certain embodiments and that the invention is not limited to theseembodiments. Variations can be made to the embodiments described hereinand all such variations are within the scope of the invention. Forexample, although the invention has been described with reference tousing the MSISDNs as the ID information, other types of ID informationmay be used, such as, for example, email addresses, names of persons ororganizations, etc. Also, as stated above, the invention is not limitedto SMS networks or SMS messages. The invention also applies to othertypes of networks and messaging services. Those skilled in the art willunderstand, in view of the description provided herein, the manner inwhich these variations to the embodiments described above can beimplemented.

1. An apparatus for blocking identification (ID) information associatedwith a wireless device of a sender of an electronic message, the messageat least including ID information associated with the sender's wirelessdevice, ID information associated with a wireless device of an intendedrecipient of the electronic message, and message contents, the apparatuscomprising: detection logic that detects if the electronic message alsoincludes an indicator that indicates that the ID information associatedwith the wireless device of the sender of the message is to be blocked;and message creation logic that creates a new message to be delivered tothe intended recipient that includes a blocking reference, the IDinformation associated with the intended recipient's wireless device, analias selected by the sender to be sent to the recipient in lieu of thesender's ID information, and the message contents, wherein the apparatusresides on a wireless telecommunications network.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the electronic message is a Short Messaging Service(SMS) message.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronicmessage is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message sent using aVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the electronic message is sent using a video sharing service.5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronic message is sentusing an instant messaging service.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe electronic message is sent using an interactive messaging service.7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronic message is a pagingmessage sent via Interactive Messaging.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the electronic message is sent using a multimedia messagingservice (MMS).
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronicmessage is an electronic mail (email) message sent over a network usingTransmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
 10. Theapparatus of claim 2, wherein the detection logic and message creationlogic are implemented in an External Short Message Entity (ESME) of aShort Messaging Service (SMS) network.
 11. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the detection logic and message creation logic are implementedin a Short Messaging Service Centre (SMSC) of an SMS network.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the detection logic and message creationlogic are implemented in an Open Messaging Gateway (OMG) of an SMSnetwork.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ID informationassociated with the sender's wireless device is a mobile stationintegrated services digital network (MSISDN/MIN) number assigned to thesender's wireless device.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the IDinformation associated with the recipient's wireless device is a mobilestation integrated services digital network (MSISDN/MIN) number assignedto the intended recipient's wireless device.
 15. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the new message includes an identifier preselected by acarrier to uniquely identify the carrier in order to provideintercarrier identification blocking that will properly route repliesfrom the intended recipient back to an appropriate carrier network. 16.The apparatus of claim 1, the message creation logic includes logic thatcreates a link between the blocking reference and the ID informationassociated with the sender's wireless device and stores the link inmemory.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: receivinglogic that receives an electronic message sent by the intended recipientto the sender in response to the recipient's wireless device receivingthe new message created by the message creation logic, the message sentby the intended recipient to the sender at least including the blockingreference, the ID information associated with the intended recipient'swireless device, and message contents; and retrieval logic that uses theblocking reference and the ID information associated with the intendedrecipient's wireless device to retrieve the link between the blockingreference and the ID information associated with the sender's wirelessdevice from the memory in which the link is stored, and wherein themessage creation logic creates a new message to be sent to the sender'swireless device, the new message to be sent to the sender's wirelessdevice at least including the ID information associated with thewireless device of the sender and the message contents included in themessage sent by the intended recipient to the sender.
 18. The apparatusof claim 17, wherein the new message to be sent to the sender's wirelessdevice also includes the ID information associated with the wirelessdevice of said intended recipient.
 19. A computer-implemented method ina wireless telecommunication system for blocking identification (ID)information associated with a wireless device of a sender of anelectronic message, the message at least including ID informationassociated with the sender's wireless device, ID information associatedwith a wireless device of an intended recipient of the message, andmessage contents, the method comprising: detecting if the message alsoincludes an indicator that indicates that the ID information associatedwith the wireless device of the sender of the message is to be blocked;and creating a new message to be delivered to the intended recipientthat includes a blocking reference, the ID information associated withthe intended recipient's wireless device, an alias selected by thesender to be sent to the recipient in lieu of the sender's IDinformation, and the message contents.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the message is a Short Messaging Service (SMS) message, andwherein the method is performed by an External Short Message Entity(ESME) of an SMS network.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the methodis performed by a Short Messaging Service Centre (SMSC) of an SMSnetwork.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein the message is a ShortMessaging Service (SMS) message, and wherein the method is performed byan Open Messaging Gateway (OMG) of an SMS network.
 23. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the message is a Short Messaging Service (SMS) message,and wherein the method is performed by a signal transfer point gatewayof an SMS network.
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is aShort Messaging Service (SMS) message, and wherein the method isperformed by a signal transfer point gateway of an SMS network.
 25. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the message is a Short Messaging Service(SMS) message, and wherein the method is performed by an Internettransfer point (ITP) gateway.
 26. The method of claim 1, wherein the IDinformation associated with the sender's wireless device is a mobilestation integrated services digital network (MSISDN/MIN) number assignedto the sender's wireless device.
 27. The method of claim 1, wherein theID information associated with the recipient's wireless device is amobile station integrated services digital network (MSISDN/MIN) numberassigned to the intended recipient's wireless device.
 28. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the electronic message is a Session Initiation Protocol(SIP) message sent using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.29. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic message is sent usingan instant messaging (IM) message service.
 30. The method of claim 1,wherein the electronic message is a paging message sent using anInteractive Messaging (IM) service.
 31. The method of claim 1, whereinthe electronic message is sent using a multimedia messaging service(MMS) service.
 32. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic messageis an electronic mail (email) message sent over a network usingTransmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
 33. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving an electronic message sent bythe intended recipient to the sender in response to the recipient'swireless device receiving said new message, the message sent by theintended recipient to the sender at least including the blockingreference, the ID information associated with the intended recipient'swireless device, and message contents; and creating a new message to besent to the sender's wireless device that at least includes the IDinformation associated with the wireless device of the sender and themessage contents included in the SMS message sent by the intendedrecipient to the sender.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the newmessage to be sent to the sender's wireless device also includes the IDinformation associated with the wireless device of said intendedrecipient.